A variety of methods and devices currently exist for passing electrical signals and current across distinct environments. Such devices are commonly referred to as electrical feedthrus. The intent of electrical feedthrus is to facilitate passage of the electrical signals, current, or both across the distinct environments without breaching the integrity of any boundary therebetween. One variety of electrical feedthrus includes epoxy encapsulated transmission lines. The transmission lines are usually centered within the epoxy capsule, with the lines running parallel to the epoxy capsule. The epoxy capsule is generally placed between the two distinct environments, where it maintains isolation between the two environments and insulates the transmission lines. Another variety of electrical feedthrus includes constructing a boundary body between two distinct environments with non-conductive materials, and inserting the transmission lines through the boundary body. The boundary body between the two distinct environments is then sealed by standard sealing techniques, such as the use of an O-ring.
However, these standard electrical feedthrus have a number of drawbacks. The primary problem associated with standard electrical feedthrus is the size. Standard electrical feedthrus are often much too large for many applications, particularly for microelectronics or MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical-systems) packaging. Further, as the number of transmission lines needed increases, the size of the feedthrus becomes even larger. In addition, the transmission lines of standard electrical feedthrus must pass through the boundary between distinct environments parallel or almost parallel to an axial centerline of the boundary. And as more feedthrus extend through an electrical feedthru, the body of the electrical feedthru is weakened, sometimes requiring a reduction in operating pressures or other parameters across the two boundaries.